With this article I open this week’s theme ‘Animals’. The car in the picture is a splendid creation of a fish-car. I learned that it actually is supposed to be a dolphin! So, what about this odd and extraordinary Fiat 509A Delfino? My dad saw it once at the Retromobile exhibition in Paris and thanks to my ‘PININFARINA’S FASHIONABLE X FISH’ article (published July 16th), I found the car. The perfect candidate for CHB’s ‘Animals’ theme (and still a bit in the spirit of the one-off cars)!

The Fiat 509A was a very common car in 1925, but if you build a dolphin-like body on its chassis, you get an exceptional car, the Delfino!

The Fiat 509A Delfino was constructed in 1925 by the Martelleria Italiana Riva Panzeri of Milano for a special competition of crafts. After the competition the car was purchased by Giuseppe Bonaldi, the ‘Podestà’ (mayor) of Bergamo. Apparently Bonaldi kept his unique car for only a very brief period… Continue reading